HISTORY OF NINEVEH PART 1 - THE FOUNDING OF NINEVEH

HISTORY OF NINEVEH

This may take a few days because we want to make each post readable in just a few minutes, but we want to give a thorough background. So hold onto your hats as we explore a bit of history.

THE FOUNDING OF NINEVEH

Genesis 10:6-11 (AMPC) The sons of Ham: Cush, Egypt [Mizraim], Put, and Canaan.

The sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca; and the sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan.

Cush became the father of Nimrod; he was the first to be a mighty man on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; therefore it is said, Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord. The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar [in Babylonia]. Out of the land he [Nimrod] went forth into Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah

Nimrod, a mighty hunter, founded the city of Nineveh. He was the son of Ham who was the son of Noah. You may remember that Ham was the son who saw Noah naked and instead of covering him up went and told his two brothers. They walked in backwards so as to not see their father in his drunken, naked state; and they covered him. Therefore, Noah pronounced a curse on Ham’s son Canaan (father of the Canaanites, a people God would later tell the Israelites to destroy.) (Genesis 9). Nimrod was one of Ham’s other sons, but he was father of the entire Tower of Babel fiasco. So, Nineveh had problems from the get-go.

WHERE WERE JOPPA AND TARSHISH?

Instead of traveling north-east to Nineveh, Jonah headed to Joppa (beauty) which was about 30 miles north-west of Jerusalem. The modern city Jaffa is located on the site of ancient Joppa. You may remember that Simon Peter was staying with a tanner in Joppa when the Lord gave him the vision of the unclean animals coming down on a sheet. Joppa was a seaport, and Jonah’s intention was to take a ship and sail as far in the other direction from Nineveh as he could. He boarded a ship for Tarshish which means “contemplation or examination” or could refer to a precious stone, perhaps yellow jasper.

There are differing views on where Tarshish was located, but all the possibilities have it being extremely far west from where the Lord had commanded Jonah to preach. Many historians believe it was actually a seaport on the southern tip of Spain. For an overview on its location see:

http://biblehub.com/topical/t/tarshish.htm

The map below supposes the location in Spain and shows it in relation to both Joppa and Nineveh.

WHERE WAS NINEVEH?

Nineveh was not only the center of Jonah’s story, but is found in the Bible as early as Genesis. We looked up Nineveh at www.biblegateway.com and found it mentioned in the following verses:

1.                Genesis 10:11-12

2.                2 Kings 19:36

3.                Isaiah 37:37

4.                Jonah 1:2, 3:2-7, 4:11

5.                Nahum 1:1, 2:8, 3:7

6.                Zephaniah 2:13

7.                Matthew 12:41

So exactly where was this city to which the Lord commanded Jonah to go and preach? Nineveh (abode of Ninus) was named the capital city of Assyria by King Sennacherib and was one of the most populous. It was on the bank of the Tigris River and located strategically where two trade routes met. To view a map, go to:

https://www.britannica.com/place/Nineveh-ancient-city-Iraq

There is another map, showing Nineveh in relation to Jerusalem, as well as an excellent article here:

http://www.bible-history.com/biblestudy/nineveh.html

Nineveh was to the north and east of Jerusalem and north of Babylon. Nineveh was eventually completely destroyed in fulfillment of what Nahum prophesied against that city. On a modern map, the site where Nineveh once stood would be surrounded by Mosul and Basra in Iraq. Tomorrow, we will look at the location of Tarshish.

WHEN DID JONAH LIVE AND WHERE WAS HE FROM?

The prophet Jonah, best known for his encounter with an extremely large fish, is first mentioned in relation to a prophecy he made which was fulfilled when Jeroboam II (ca. 793–753 B.C.) was able to expand the borders of Israel:

2 Kings 14:25 He (Jeroboam) restored the coast of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto the sea of the plain, according to the word of the Lord God of Israel, which he spake by the hand of his servant Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet, which was of Gathhepher.

We know this is the same Jonah because of the mention of his father Amittai in 2 Kings and in the book of Jonah. The 2 Kings passage also tells us that he was from the town of Gathepher (meaning winepress of the well) located about 14 miles west of the Sea of Galilee about 5 miles from Nazareth where Jesus would later spend his boyhood. 

NOTE ABOUT THE CONCORDANCE USED FOR THIS BLOG

NOTE: As we move forward in our study of Jonah, a word may occasionally have a superscript number, that is a reference to the numbering system in The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible which is an excellent resource for looking up the meanings of the Hebrew or Greek words. For example, Lord³⁰⁶⁸ would be the reference for the Hebrew word used for Lord in Jonah 1:1. You would look in the Hebrew dictionary in Strong's to see the precise meaning of the word. 

If you do not own a copy, you may access Strong’s Concordance online at http://www.biblehub.com/strongs.htm

A TINY TASTE OF JONAH

A TINY TASTE OF JONAH . . .

Jonah 1:1-2 Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.

Susan: The name Jonah means “dove” and Amittai means “true fearing.”

Susie: I find it ironic that the man who did not want to take God’s message to the enemies of his people was named “dove” a symbol of both peace and the Holy Spirit. 

WE SUGGEST THAT YOU PREPARE FOR THE STUDY BY READING THE ENTIRE BOOK OF JONAH IN MORE THAN ONE TRANSLATION.  INCLUDING THE INTRODUCTION, IT'S ABOUT 3 1/2 PAGES LONG, SO THAT'S VERY DOABLE BETWEEN NOW AND SEPTEMBER 21ST!

JONAH - LIFE INTERRUPTED: NAVIGATING THE UNEXPECTED

In a few weeks, the women at North Pointe Baptist Church will begin a study of the book of Jonah using this book authored by Priscilla Shirer. North Pointe ladies may contact our church office to sign up for this study. Susan Slade and Susie Hale of Precious Jewels Ministries will be joining in the study by posting our comments on this blog. Whether or not you are physically able to attend the Bible study, you are invited to join in by reading and commenting on this blog. If you are not able to sign up through our church and purchase a book, you may purchase one at Christianbook.com or through Amazon. 

https://www.christianbook.com/life-interrupted-navigating-the-unexpected/priscilla-shirer/9781433670459/pd/670459?event=Christian-Authors|1008110

We hope many of our North Pointe members will be able to attend and be a part of the live discussion. However, if like Susan you cannot easily leave your home, you may still enjoy studying with us via the internet. We hope to see many comments here in the weeks to come!